Universal Biology
The Physics of Life through the Macro-Micro Consistency Principle
Published on 20. November 2025
Book
Hardback
358 pages
978-1-009-57566-9 (ISBN)
Description
Living systems consist of diverse components and constitute a hierarchy, from molecules to cells to organisms, which adapt to external perturbations and reproduce stably. This book describes the statistical and physical principles governing cell growth and reproduction, and the mechanisms for adaptation through noise, kinetic memory, and robust cell differentiation through cell to cell interaction and epigenetics. The laws governing rate, direction, and constraints of phenotypic evolution are examined from the perspective of microscopic units (molecules) and macroscopic states (cells), with a focus on maintaining consistency between these length and temporal scales. By integrating theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches, this book offers novel insights into biology from a physicist's perspective and provides a detailed picture of the universal characteristics of living systems. It is indispensable for students and researchers in physics, biology and mathematics interested in understanding the nature of life and the physical principles it is based upon.
Reviews / Votes
'We easily forget how astonishing it is to watch a cell replicate itself. Kaneko reminds us that scientists still lack a fundamental molecular understanding of this most basic feature of life. Readers with backgrounds in physics and complex systems will be rewarded with a refreshing view of biology, grounded in experimental data and mathematical analysis.' Mukund Thattai, National Centre for Biological Sciences, IndiaMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 250 mm
Width: 175 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
797 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-009-57566-9 (9781009575669)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Kunihiko Kaneko has been a Professor at the University of Tokyo for twenty-seven years, teaching mathematical biology, biophysics, and complex systems, and he is currently at the Niels Bohr Institute. He was also Stanislaw Ulam Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, visiting professor at Osaka University (Frontier Biosciences), University of Lyon, Freiburg University, and part of the external faculty of Santa Fe Institute, a member of the Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton, and is a Founding Director of Center for Complex Systems Biology and Universal Biology Institute at the University of Tokyo.
Content
1. The potential of universal biology: is there a universal nature of life?; 2. Methodology for universal biology; 3. Reproduction of cells: dynamic and thermodynamic characteristics, dormancy, fluctuation, and requisites of protocells; 4. Generic adaptation of cells; Attractor selection, stochasticity, and consistency; 5. Adaptation and cellular homeostasis; 6. Cellular memory; 7. Cell differentiation through development; 8. Evolution of phenotypic plasticity and robustness in terms of phenotypic fluctuations; 9. Direction and constraint in phenotypic evolution: dimension reduction and global proportionality in phenotype fluctuation and responses; 10. Summary and future issues.